Qwest squeezes up to 38MBPS out of tired old twisted pair

Once again finding a way to further leverage infrastructure that dates back to era when calls were connected by a person and 2 plugs, Qwest has tested pair bonding copper to deliver up to 38MBPS. Not very impressive in the larger scheme of things, but it’s about 7 times faster than AT&T’s fastest offering in my neighborhood.

The technology could enable the Denver telco to provide data speeds of up to 35 to 38 megabits a second. Currently, the company’s fastest advertised rates are 7 megabits a second.

It’s too early to say whether Qwest will ever go to a bonded DSL line platform. But if the technology proves to be commercially viable, it could be an option for providing video on demand.

“It’s well-suited to deliver video in many ways,” said Pieter Poll, Qwest’s chief technology officer, when demonstrating the technology recently.